"Now then, how about I proceed with the 'New Students' welcoming ceremony" Marcel said.
"Richter, Xol answer only with your head, did you get some enlightenment with your mana sensibility in the academy first trial?" Marcel said raising his eyebrows.
Xol figured he was referring to the Highly Concentrated Pure Mana Crystal and nodded his head. Richter also nodded at Marcel.
"Then that means, only Kingo is missing it, ahh this is going to be tricky." Marcel said crossing his arms and rubbing his hair after a while.
Xol and Richter glanced at one another with some puzzlement about what the crystal had to with a welcoming ceremony.
"I´m going to stay some days in the city before returning, how about I give you a hand seeing you´re a little under leveled to help Kingo." Jun said seeing the situation.
"That's be great, thank you Jun" Marcel said with relief. He couldn´t help Kingo get a good mana blessing with the level difference of the two.
"Well, tomorrow would be difficult as it´s the last day of the inscriptions to the academy, how about the day after tomorrow, we all go to some of the academies personal dungeons." Jun said with a smile.
Xol face flushed in a smile hearing they going to another dungeon.
"Un" everyone nodded at the suggestion.
"Also, that day is the first day to search for a teacher, how about you use the morning to search for a teacher and we go to the dungeon in the afternoon after eating something. Do you have in mind some attunements, I know various teachers and can recommend you to them, so you have an easier time getting into their class." Jun extending his hand as he suggested.
"Fire and metal." Kingo repeated the attunements he had in mind.
"Wind." Marcel said
"Lightning" Richter answered.
"No idea" Xol shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh, Marcel and Richter you´re in luck, I took those attunements in the academy so I can present you to the teachers in charge of the attunement class."
"How about we do this, Richter I have some business to talk with Principal Zestari, I can present you to her in the morning, Marcel try to finish your tier 1 attunement before I leave. We will do both the level 25 and 30 dungeons so you have easier time getting tier 1 before I finish my business in the city." Jun organized a better plan.
"Also, Xol check the requirements for becoming a student of the teachers in the morning. Also see if your interested in what the attunement has to offer." Jun glanced at Xol with an impish smile.
"Okay, I´ll come see you guys the day after tomorrow, also have this" Jun gave Kingo, Marcel, and Richter some earplugs.
"What are these and why you are giving it to us?" Richter asked examining the earplug.
Jun closed his eyes and raised his hand pointing his hand toward Xol who was behind him.
"He talks in his sleep and you don´t want to hear him when he has nightmares. This magical earplug can block all the sounds when you sleep." Jun sighed.
"Hehe, sorry for the trouble I cause." Xol said rubbing the back of his head with his right-hand blushing slightly.
The perception of the group of Jun suddenly improved two-fold. Once Jun left the room Marcel glanced at Kingo.
"Kingo, seeing as you´re planning to take the fire attunement, how about we compete on who passes from student to disciple first" Marcel said.
"Wait, what the difference?" Kingo replied with a confused face.
"Right, being recommended by the martial academy, they didn´t went to so much detail of the academy with you." Realization stroking Marcel face.
"In the academy there 3 types of students, half-student, student and disciple. Half-student refers to those students that take a public lecture of a teacher, these lectures cover many general aspects of being a mage, like mana, combat strategies, specific positions, etc. Once one takes a public lecture of a teacher, he become a half-student of the teacher." Marcel explained.
"A student takes part in the classes a teacher gives in their specific attunement, and as you heard from big brother Jun, each class has requirement before you can take part in them." Xol joined the explanation.
"If I understand correctly disciples are those students the has proven their potential to the teacher and the teacher goes the extra mile in their grooming, is that correct senior?" Richter asked with his right hand on his chin and then pointing a finger at Marcel.
"Un, that is correct. How about it Kingo you up for a friendly competition?" Marcel raised an eyebrow and extended and open hand to Kingo.
"Sure, let's do it." Kingo shook hands with Marcel.
"Now then, since we are in the same dormitory let´s make a promise. Before the martial academy six months from now everyone needs to get into a attunement class, only once that happens all of us will form party and participate in it. Also, after we go with Jun, we aren't forming the party again until everyone enters a class." Marcel said glancing at everyone with a solemn look.
"How will our party participate seeing that Kingo is graduated from the other academy, wouldn't that give us and advantage in the competition and wouldn´t let him take part?" Xol asked with conflicted face, he didn't want to exclude anybody.
"Oh, there two categories for the competition, the first is for party full of members below level 30 and those that have members above that level. We would participate in the second category" Marcel said.
"I see, then I´m in. How about you guys?" Xol exhaled in relief.
Richter and Kingo glanced at each other.
"Yeah, we´re in"
"Good, I have some friends that we can call down the line to join us and fill the other 2 slots." Marcel nodded satisfactory seeing he got good members in his room.
"Senior Marcel, I been meaning to ask, how many teachers are in the academy and what attunements they give. Jun said some of the teachers that were in his time in the academy has already retired, and don´t know the attunements the academy has currently." Xol asked.
"Well counting the principal that teaches the lightning attunement, there 11 teachers, each one teaches one attunement, though that doesn´t mean that they have only one attunement. The teacher with the best comprehension of that element would be the one in charge of the class. There are teachers that teaches fire, earth, ice, light, metal, shadow, water, wood, wind attunements. Finally, we have teacher Izuriel that is the only teacher that teaches two attunements, time and space, though he hasn´t taken a student in the las 20 years." Marcel explained.
"Doesn´t that means that the academy is just maintaining him." Richter said with scorn in his face.
"Don't you ever dare to talk about Teacher Izuriel like he is slacker maintained by the academy." Marcel bellowed angrily toward Richter surprising him.
"Though he hasn´t any student under his class nor disciples, apart from the new students every year, all the student are half-students of him. He gives the best public lectures in the basics of mana, if you guys want to understand mana better, you should go to one of his public lectures as soon as you can. Even seniors about to graduate come to his lectures and almost always there not enough space for the lecture." Marcel finished explaining respect in his face.
"I see, then he´s pretty good, but why has he not taken a student in 20 years?" Richter asked now measuring his words.
"Well apparently 20 years ago, one of his students tried to use a really powerful space spell even though he had said the student wasn´t ready. Not caring for the advertency, he still tried, and failed badly. If teacher Izuriel hadn´t felt the space mana fluctuation, the student would have died. Thankfully the student got through unharmed but teacher Izuriel lost his right hand in the process, and the right side of his body is highly damaged. The injuries are so severe he can´t take his next class up. Currently he is using a ring in his left hand that makes an illusion on himself to hide the injuries he suffered." Marcel explained.
"Couldn´t he take a pill to regenerate his body I heard he is level 200, being in the 3rd place of the strongest individuals in the country, he definitely has the capital to buy one." Kingo asked with a confused face and sadness hearing the story.
"That is something nobody understands; it gets even weirder considering his sister, principal Zestari and his brother-in-law are high level alchemists. Something about that the pill, would affect his mana cultivation severely if he depends on one to make a recovery. As I don't have that class nor understand mana cultivation, I can´t say more." Marcel said bowing slightly his face.
'I'm guessing they don't have suitable ingredients, so the pill doesn't affect adversely his cultivation… or constitution if he has one' Richter thought with a furrow in his brows.
The group continued chatting and getting to know each other until they had to go to bed.